“WWII vet, Mound graduate Hanson honored by France” |
| WWII vet, Mound graduate Hanson honored by France Posted: 20 Jan 2011 04:21 AM PST Jerome Hanson took a risk while fighting in Europe against the Germans during World War II. He paid for it by losing much of his hearing. While it may be a bit delayed in coming, officials of one of the governments Hanson and his fellow GIs fought to protect, recently expressed their appreciation for those efforts.More than six decades after the war ended the French government has awarded Hanson the Legion of Honor for his part in helping that country regain its freedom. American Legion Post 514, of Maple Plain, in December hosted a medal presentation for Hanson, who is a current Delano resident and a former Independence dairy farmer. "The only reason I'm still alive is I laid in the hospital for three months," Hanson said after receiving his medal. During that time Americans engaged in some of their fiercest fighting against the Germans. He left the hospital and headed towards the front lines. Before he could get there, the war ended in Europe. Hanson served in the 301st Infantry Regiment of the 94th Division, nicknamed the Spearhead Division, of General George Patton's Third Army. He reached the rank of sergeant while serving from Dec. 2, 1942 to Oct. 23, 1945. A 1940 Mound High School graduate, Hanson avoided the draft by enlisting in the Army Air Corps. But the Army assigned him to the infantry. After training in the United States, he sailed to England along with 20,000 allied troops on the cruise ship Queen Elizabeth. Hanson's wife Doris wondered how the ship could store enough food to feed 20,000 troops. Jerome said the Army needed a continuous chow line to dispense to them two meals a day. The troops boarded boats in England and crossed the English Channel. A few days after D-Day (June 6, 1944), the Americans and Hanson landed at Normandy, France. The beach already had been taken, so it was a safe landing. Then the 301st Infantry began to fight its way towards Czechoslovakia. Hanson served in a machine gun outfit. "My job was to find targets for the machine guns," he explained. "I was loaded down with stuff. I had my binoculars and my walkie-talkie. I spent a lot of time on the walkie-talkie. "The lieutenant and I would always set up an observation post," Hanson said. The captain sent information to him, and he relayed it to four machine gun squads. That was how Hanson took his big risk. "My instructions were to not spend more than two-and-a-half minutes on the walkie-talkie," he said. "Otherwise, they could zero in on you." The Germans did zero in. Unfortunately, Hanson was not in a foxhole at the time. And his lieutenant had been injured and was not with him. Shrapnel burst over Hanson's head and knocked him unconscious. A sergeant came looking for him and carried him to a medical aid tent. When he regained consciousness, he wasn't sure where he was. He was relieved to discover he was with the Americans. The explosion had ruptured his eardrums, and he had frozen feet. "They were going to amputate my feet, and I wouldn't let them," he said. "They said gangrene could set in. They kept checking." After his hospital stay, Hanson was given a desk job in Czechoslovakia. His captain told him to make himself scarce and open the beer parlor at 5 p.m. So running the beer parlor became his main job. His unit trained for fighting in Japan. Before they could leave, the war ended in Japan. Hanson returned to the Mound area to help his father do carpentry work. The younger Hanson decided to buy a dairy farm near Pagenkopf Road and County Road 90 in Independence. His father asked him why he would "quit these good wages, $2.40 an hour. He was upset with me," Hanson said. He married Doris, who had graduated with him from Mound High School. He operated the dairy farm for 18 years, and Doris worked for 39 years at the First National Bank in Minneapolis. "She had to work to keep my farm going," Jerome said. Doris paused from her career to raise two daughters with Jerome - Susan and Sharon. After leaving the farm the couple lived near Maple Plain and then settled in western Delano, where they see lots of wildlife. "We feed pheasants like you wouldn't believe," Doris said. And she proudly displayed her husband's handy work, including a china cabinet, shelves and clocks. However, his 89-year-old hands no longer can perform his once prolific hobby. Jerome said it doesn't bother him to talk about his war experiences. But he doesn't understand why one of his buddies, who fought with him all over Europe, has not also received a Legion of Honor medal. Both he and his wife said that other World War II veterans also should get recognition for what they did. For his war experiences, the United States gave Jerome a Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts, two Overseas Service Bars, the Good Conduct Medal and the European, African, Middle Eastern Service Medal. In a letter to Hanson, Graham Paul, French Consul General in Chicago wrote, "It is a great honor and privilege to present you with the Knight of the Legion of Honor medal. Through this award, the French government pays tribute to the soldiers who did so much for France and Western Europe. More than 65 years ago, you gave your youth to France and the French people. Many of your fellow soldiers did not return, but they remain in our hearts. "Thanks to the courage of these soldiers, to our American Friends and Allies, France has been living in peace for the past six decades. They saved us and we will never forget. I want you to know that for us, the French People, they are heroes. Gratitude and remembrance are forever in our souls. "You, Mr. Hanson, are among these heroes..." Consul General Paul concluded, "To show our eternal gratitude, the government of the French Republic has decided to award you the Legion of Honor. Created by Napoleon, it is the highest honor that France can bestow upon those who have achieved remarkable deeds for France." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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